- Depression is common.
- 1 in 6 visits to a medical office relates to depression.
- Clues that can suggest depression include pain, insomnia, worrying, frequent calls/visits to the doctors’ office, or calls to family members.
- Depression is frequently seen after cardiac bypass surgery, hip surgery, heart attack, stroke, or any long-term illness — or in those who refuse medical care!
- Clues to depression in nursing home residents include apathy, social withdrawal, weight loss, agitation, or prolonged physical rehabilitation.
- Late-life depression magnifies any existing medical or physical disability, pain, or dependency.
- Most late-life depression is treated by primary care physicians, not by mental health specialists.
- Any illness with disabling symptoms-even arthritis- can provoke depression.
- Suicide is five times more common in later life than at other ages.
- Screening for depression works to identify those who need professional help.
